The following presents a simplified background and summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of various invention embodiments. The summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is neither intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention nor to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description below.
Women's shoes, and in particular women's high-heel shoes, can cause various concerns for a wearer that create or exacerbate physical or medical issues relating to the wearer's foot and ankle. Extended wear of a high heel can cause a range of ailments, including for example, damage to the ankle, leg tendons, and foot tendons, or issues in the legs and back due to improper distribution of the wearer's weight. High-heeled shoes tend to put a foot in a plantarflexed (foot pointed downward) position, shifting the body weight away from the heel to the balls of the foot. When a woman wears high heels, her arch height is increased, which alters her posture and gait. Furthermore, an increased arch height can lead to an unnatural increase in pressure to other areas of the foot, muscle fatigue and foot and ankle injury. High heel shoes also cause a wearer's foot and ankle to move in a supinated (turned outward) position. Thus, as it is well known, wearing high heel shoes can lead to an increased risk of ankle sprain or falls due to imbalance.
In illustrative embodiments, a built-in, orthotic insole for a women's high-heel or elevated shoe is provided that may limit or counteract some of the issues that may be more prevalent for women wearing high heels. In illustrative embodiments, the orthotic insole may be comprised of three layers of material, with the inner layer including a closed-cell foam material, such as, but not limited to ethylene vinyl acetate. In illustrative embodiments, this material commercially available as P-Cell® or a similar material that has an approximate durometer of 20. The insole may further comprise an arch fill or arch support. The arch fill may consist of Microcell Puff™ or other similar material that has an approximate durometer of 35, in illustrative embodiments. The arch support may be configured to approximately extend laterally below the base of the forth metatarsal bone of the user of the high-heel shoe. The insole further includes a rear foot post or posting, which in illustrative embodiments may be made of ethylene vinyl acetate with a durometer of approximately 55, that is a 3-degree post. In illustrative embodiments, the insole may be a full-length insole, or may be a sulcus-length insole that extends to approximately the digital sulcus of a user's foot. In illustrative embodiments, the high-heel shoe also comprises a heel counter. The features minimize the risk of the user's foot sliding forward into a toe box of the shoe (for instance, when the heel of the high-heel shoe is 4 inches or less).
While the insole is configured to be permanently fixed in the high-heel shoe, the shape and size of the insole may be modified based on the shape and size of the shoe. The insole may further be covered in a wrap of leather or other similar material before being inserted into the shoe. Given the cosmetic element desired when wearing high heels, the non-removable insole may be covered in the same fabrics and materials as the upper part of the shoe. In such a manner, the wrapped insole avoids showing unattractive adhesive pads and also eliminates slippage of such removable pads.